However, Zhu Yuanzhang never imagined that the Ming Dynasty became the most serious and tragic dynasty in the history of eunuchs.
The ancestor of Emperor Cheng vigorously supervised eunuchs, and gave eunuchs powers such as "sending envoys, recruiting special forces, supervising troops, dividing towns, and stabbing officials and people to hide things", which led to the eunuch Ma Su's violent change of the country name. If Ma Su's mistake of crossing the country when Judy was in Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty was only a case, then the eunuch dictatorship began to spread. In the first year of Xuanzong, an inner bookstore was set up in the inner government to teach and supervise the inner officials. When Xuanzong proclaimed himself emperor, eunuchs began to collect exotic flowers, herbs and jewels all over the country on behalf of the emperor. But at that time, eunuchs dared not expect too much. For example, Yuan Qi and Pei Kelie were eunuchs that the emperor loved very much. Once they made a mistake, they were killed at once. March mentioned above, because of greed and rebellion, broke away from Ming * * * and was finally beheaded. This shows that eunuchs can't form an important force, and the emperor can still manage it.
But after Ming Yingzong, eunuchs became unscrupulous and began to get their hands on military mines and so on, and their status was rising, even above the cabinet university students. In the early years of Jiajing, eunuchs had to bow and scrape when they saw cabinet records. In the middle of Jiajing, eunuchs only need to pay attention to the head-up record. In the late Jiajing period, when Yan Song was appointed as the records, they had to bow and scrape to the eunuchs before they could enter the palace. Jiajing dynasty and Taizu dynasty were still periods when eunuchs did not gain power. At other times, we can boldly imagine the power of eunuchs. "Ming History" said that when a cabinet college student took office in Chongzhen, he had to report to the eunuch of Silijian first.
How did the power of Ming Chengzu slip into the hands of eunuchs?
First of all, the political system set by Zhu Yuanzhang is flawed-the communication between the emperor and the minister needs to go through eunuchs.
After Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the prime minister, the Ming Dynasty gradually formed a system in which the cabinet helped the emperor to return to the throne. According to this system, the Ming cabinet could not exercise its functions and powers alone, and its power came from its own "draft" and the emperor's "Zhu Pi".
A bill of exchange is also called a bill purport and a document purport. Under normal circumstances, the documents submitted by various departments all over the country are first collected in the General Political Department, which registers them and then transfers them to the emperor. The emperor did not comment after reading it, but transferred it to the cabinet. After the university students "inked books with small receipts", they posted them on the covers of these reports and returned them to the emperor. If the emperor agrees, it will be copied neatly in red ink and promulgated nationwide. The opinion of the cabinet college students is called "the draft of the ticket", and the emperor used a red brush for the royal brush, which is called "approving the red". After the red text is passed, it will be put on the throne for the record, and a copy will be recorded, and then it will be distributed to all localities and departments for implementation.
However, there is still a distance between college students and the emperor. How to decide the emperor, whether to decide according to the opinions endorsed by the university students, or even whether to make the opposite decision, the university students don't know, and they rarely have the opportunity to explain it to the emperor in person. For example, during the Wanli period of Jiajing, the emperor lived in the palace, and the college students could not see the shadow of the emperor for several years or even decades.